Enterprise (NX-01)
nl:Enterprise (NX-01) Affiliation: Earth Starfleet Launched: April 2151 Type: Explorer Length: 225 meters Beam: 133.5 meters Draft: 33.3 meters Mass: 80,000 metric tons Crew: 83 Maximum Speed: Warp 5 (Cochrane scale) Armament: 4+ phase cannons; 6+ photonic torpedo launchers; 2+ pulse plasma cannons Defenses: Polarized hull plating Enterprise (NX-01) was the first NX-class starship launched by the Earth Starfleet in the 2150s. Enterprise was launched from the Warp Five Complex on April 12, 2151 under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer. The launch occured three weeks ahead of schedule because of the need of Earth to return Klaang the Klingon to his homeworld of Qo'noS in time to recieve proper medical care. The early launch was at the strongest protests of Vulcan ambassador Soval, who believed humanity was not ready to explore space. He did manage to wrangle a concession from Starfleet, forcing Archer to allow the placement of Sub-Commander T'Pol on his vessel in exchange for Vulcan star charts. (ENT: "Broken Bow") Enterprise was the first Earth vessel to be rated with a transporter equipped for transporting biological organisms. However, the machine malfunctioned a number of times (ENT: "Strange New World", "Vanishing Point") and the preferred method of travel was still the shuttlepod. After trips in the pod, it was standard procedure for returning crew and passengers to utilize the decontamination chamber. Enterprise was not so advanced in all areas, however. Unlike the Vulcan ships of its day, it did not possess tractor beams, merely grapplers. Achievements Enterprise was an historic vessel. It was the first Earth ship to be outfitted with Henry Archer's warp five engine, and as such was Starfleet's first "real" vessel of exploration. This exploration was not entirely into unknown territory, as the ship was aided by the Vulcan star charts. However, it participated in several historically significant events, such as the discovery of the Temporal Cold War (ENT: "Broken Bow"), the return to Terra Nova (ENT: "Terra Nova"), continued involvement in Vulcan/Andorian hostilities (ENT: "The Andorian Incident", et al.), the destruction of the colony on Paraagan II (ENT: "Shockwave, Part I"), the encounter with the first noncorporeal life-form (ENT: "The Crossing"), the discovery of the lost human tribe in the Delphic Expanse (ENT: "North Star"), and the race to stop the Xindi superweapon (ENT: "The Expanse", et al.). Enterprise also made Earth's first contact with numerous species, including: * Andorians, June 2151 (ENT: "The Andorian Incident") * Antarans, early 2153 (ENT: "The Breach") * Arkonians, late 2152 (ENT: "Dawn") * Axanar, May 2151 (ENT: "Fight or Flight") * Borg, March 2153 (ENT: "Regeneration") Note: This first contact remained unconfirmed until 2365 (TNG: "Q Who?") * Coridans, October 2151 (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem") * Enolians, late 2152 (ENT: "Canamar") * Eska, November 2151 (ENT: "Rogue Planet") * Ferengi, December 2151 (ENT: "Acquisition") Note: This first contact remained unconfirmed until 2364 (TNG: "The Last Outpost") * Illyrians, early 2154 (ENT: "Damage") * Kantare, December 2151 (ENT: "Oasis") * Kriosians, September 2152 (ENT: "Precious Cargo") * Kreetassans, January 2152 (ENT: "Vox Sola") Note: The ship later conducted a follow-up visit to the Kreetassan homeworld in mid-2152 (ENT: "A Night in Sickbay") * Malurians, July 2151 (ENT: "Civilization") * Mazarites, February 2152 (ENT: "Fallen Hero") * Menk, September 2151 (ENT: "Dear Doctor") * Osaarians, September 2153 (ENT: "Anomaly") * Paraagans, March 2152 (ENT: "Shockwave, Part I") * Retellians, September 2152 (ENT: "Precious Cargo") * Risians, February 2152 (ENT: "Two Days and Two Nights") * Romulans, April 2152 (ENT: "Minefield") Note: First visual contact was not made until 2266 (TOS: "Balance of Terror") * Sphere Builders, December 2153 (ENT: "Harbinger") * Suliban, April 2151 (ENT: "Broken Bow") * Takret, September 2152 (ENT: "The Catwalk") * Tandarans, January 2152 (ENT: "Detained") * Tholians, late 2152 (ENT: "Future Tense") * Triannons, November 2153 (ENT: "Chosen Realm") * Valakians, September 2151 (ENT: "Dear Doctor") * Vissians, early 2153 (ENT: "Cogenitor") * Xindi, September 2153 (ENT: "The Xindi") * Xyrillians, May 2151 (ENT: "Unexpected") History The early launch of Enterprise meant that it left spacedock somewhat under-prepared: its spatial torpedoes were uncalibrated, and its phase cannons not even installed. The spatial torpedoes were calibrated in the heat of battle in May 2151 (ENT: "Fight or Flight"); the ship only survived because of the intervention of the Axanar. The phase cannons were not installed until September 2151 while Enterprise battled an unknown enemy (ENT: "Silent Enemy"). In March 2152, the ship's mission was cancelled when one of its shuttlepods appeared to ignite the tetrazine gas within the atmosphere of the Paraagan II, killing 3600 innocent colonists. It was this, plus its actions at other planets including P'Jem and Tandar Prime, that caused the Starfleet Command Council to recall Enterprise to Earth. Ambassador Soval recommended that Earth wait another ten to twenty years before trying another deep space exploration mission. Archer was able to convince the Starfleet Command Council and the Vulcan High Command to allow Enterprise to continue with a stirring speech about gazelles. (ENT: "Shockwave, Parts I and II") In April 2152 Enterprise suffered severe damage after an encounter in a Romulan minefield (ENT: "Minefield"). Fortunately the ship was directed by a passing Tellarite vessel to an automated repair facility, though Enterprise was forced to destroy the facility to escape unscathed (ENT: "Dead Stop"). A plasma injector nevertheless failed shortly thereafter, necessitating a trip to the Kreetassan homeworld (ENT: "A Night in Sickbay"). After the Xindi attack on Earth in March 2153, Enterprise was recalled home. It arrived on April 24. After a refit and upgrade (which included the installation of the new photonic torpedoes, a Universal Translator update, and a new command center), it was launched on a mission to the Delphic Expanse to attempt to find the Xindi. Enterprise also took on board a detachment of MACOs for this mission. (ENT: "The Expanse") The search for the Xindi was long and perilous, taking almost a year. Enterprise was in severe danger much of its time in the Expanse due to the presence of spatial anomalies generated by the spheres (ENT: "Anomaly"). It was discovered that insulating with trellium-D could protect the ship from the anomalies, but unfortunately trellium is hazardous to Vulcan neural pathways, and Captain Archer refused to let Sub-Commander T'Pol leave the ship (ENT: "Impulse"). Enterprise finally reached Azati Prime, where the Xindi superweapon was being built, in February 2154 (ENT: "Azati Prime"). There the ship suffered from severe damage due to a Xindi attack; damage that required drastic actions on the part of Captain Archer to repair (ENT: "Damage"). The damage to Enterprise was still severe; were it not for the intervention of a future Enterprise, it could have travelled 117 years into the past when attempting to use a subspace vortex (ENT: "E²"). The Enterprise accomplished its mission to destroy the Xindi weapon successfully, though Captain Archer was presumed dead. The ship was returned to Earth by a Xindi-Aquatic cruiser following the end of the mission.